CSA bound Dec. 8th need advice on what to pack

Hey all! My husband and I got married in Jamaica 6 years ago and are finally heading back! We stayed at a different resort the first time and it looks like CSA has more to offer and more upscale than our previous experience. Our first trip we WAY over packed and decided that the next time we would only need bare essentials but the restaurants obviously have dress codes and I'm wondering what/how much everyone brings. Any must haves or don't bothers? We will be there for 6 days. Thanks everyone!!

CLOTHES
For the man - please bring a pair of trousers, collared shirt (not a "work" type of shirt, but a Tommy Bahama or even a golf shirt will do) and a pair of closed toed shoes (docksiders, etc.) For the woman, please bring a pretty sundress or skirt an tiny top along with a shawl or light sweater and a a cute pair of sandals (not flip flops). You'll want these clothes for Feathers, the upscale, air conditioned restaurant. The food here is really good, and you'll definitely want to check it out - I think they may have relaxed their dress code of late, but it really doesn't weigh too much to take this kind of clothing, and if you like great food, you'll be glad you did.

Otherwise, just take a bunch of swim suits and a couple of sarongs and/or cover ups.

If you plan to work out, bring some gym clothes - the gym is outstanding, but is open air, so you should plan to work out EARLY. They also offer pilates, spinning and squash lessons in air conditioned facilities, and if you like to play tennis, be sure to bring some tennis duds (although you don't have to bring racquets or balls, as they're provided). We don't play tennis, but understand the instructors are outstanding.

I wouldn't bring chiffon-types of dresses or shorts or jeans, as you'll find that during the day you're in your swimsuit and cover-up and at night you'll want a cotton or jersey type of dress, etc. Chiffon or any kind of man-made fabric tends to be too hot and sweaty.

Bring shampoo and conditioner if you have a preferred brand. Couples supplies a shampoo & conditioner product that is useless for me. But they also provide soap and a body lotion.

You can get a citronella candle from housekeeping, if you want to light one on your verandah.

Bring sunscreen, chapstick, aspirin/ibuprofen and immodium. This stuff is all available at the resort, but is more expensive than what you'll see in the US. And immodium may not be necessary, as the water is potable like in the US and the food is good - we always bring it for those "just in case" moments.

We hope you have as good a time at CSA as we have had. We are both insanely jealous of you, as we're moving from the US for the foreseeable future, and won't be able to visit CSA, our home away from home for 9 visits, for quite some time....

THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting so much time and thought into your reply! Since you brought your own shampoo and conditioner, did you check your luggage?

We leave in 30 days and I have a hard time focusing on anything but Jamacia! This will be our first true vacation since our wedding and since the birth of our son, so we are looking forward to spending most of our time on the beach relaxing and the nightlife enjoying time out with friends. I think I have pretty much read every thread on here, but you can't get too many opinions or ideas regarding what people think is most important to have/bring. I'm glad to hear that the common consensus is that CSA is an unbelievable experience that will almost guarantee return trips.

I hope that wherever you end up, you will find your way back to CSA and maybe we will run into each other! Best of luck and thanks again!

Hi IslandMentality,
Welcome to the Couples Family! We've been to CTI once and CSA twice, returning to CSA the week before you. We're leaving on the 8th sad to say. Don't go expecting glitz and glamour in your room. They are nice but low key, without italian marble or polished brass. We're hardly ever in the room so it's no big deal for us. Anyway to answer your question. As gonegril has stated, bring plenty of sunscreen and over the counter meds because they are very expensive there. As far as clothing goes she also is spot on with the dress up requirements for Feathers but she failed to mention dressing for the Palms, Lemongrass and Patois restaurants. During the day at the Palms & Patois you can wear your bathing suits with tee shirts or coverups, bring at least 3 suits because they don't dry too quickly in the humid air, but at night you should wear resort casual clothes. By resort casual I mean light weight dresses or skirt/blouse combinations and your husband nice shorts and tee shirts or golf shirts. Several of each will be enough so you don't have to worry about doing laundry while there.
Some of our favorite things at CSA are:
1. We love ground floor rooms so you can have your early morning breakfast tray delivered to your veranda door and walk right out onto the property without stair climbing. Don't forget to hang out your order on the main door by 11pm the night before. We love waking up to the day this way.
2. Eat lunch at the Seagrapes Cafe on the beach. I'm no fan of veggie food but we love to eat there almost every day. The sweet potato chips & dip, fish tacos, grouper sandwich, veggie burger and salads are awesome.
3. Eat breakfast at Patois and don't miss the banana stuffed french toast or the breakfast pizzas, they're to die for!
4. Hang out with Ultimate Chocolate at the piano when he's there in the evenings, you'll have a blast!
5. Take the catamaran cruise at least once and swim into the cave.
Enjoy your time in Paradise, aka CSA!
Steve

We travel with carry-on only for a 7 day trip and STILL over pack a bit. We take two roller bags to go overhead and we take two medium sized backpacks (day packs) that go under the seat in front of us. We do tend to buy most of our liquid items after we get there so we don't have that problem. So as stated above by "gonegirl" bring evening clothes for the guys (thatís me) I bring one pair of khaki dress pants, one pair of comfy leather shoes, two Hawaiian dress shirts and the rest is swim suits, shorts, tank tops and Tee's. The ladies (thatís her, not me) usually brings 2 light sun dresses, a nice pair of strapped sandals, swim suits, shorts, various tops and her dainties. Other items include for both flip flops, sneakers, hats, possibly others but thatís about it.

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply! It's amazing to me that while reading pretty much every thread how welcoming and genuinely nice everyone is....truly the biggest extended family! I think I have everything planned out and decided that we will be taking carryons and not checking our luggage.

I'm not concerned about what the rooms are lacking as we don't intend on spending much time in there. We have an Ocean Verandah and I read it was a good idea to bring out own netting to keep insects and frogs out...any truth to this?

We intend to try everything once....or as much as we can for the 6 days we're there. Seriously can't wait....I've almost become useless in every aspect of my life because all I can think about it Jamaica! Will pick up some ketchup packets in the airport, just in case.

Be sure to bring bug spray for watching the sunsets and going to the bonfire. The sand fleas will eat you alive! Some hydrocortisone cream wouldn't hurt either.... My husband got zero bites, but I got a ton - even when using Deep Woods OFF. EXTREMELY itchy! I always pack extra zip lock baggies too - good for packing wet bathing suits to bring home, or to put collected shells into. And don't forget your camera battery charger! The lotion in the rooms is fine, and I just used their combo shampoo/conditioner - easier than bringing it - it's heavy! All liquids or gels (over 4 oz.) have to be in checked luggage - put them in a zip lock bag in case of leaking. You can put anything heavy in a carry on (shoes, etc.) We bought a $10 fish scale at WalMart and use it to weigh our luggage at home (to avoid going over the 50 lb. limit) and we pack it in our carry on so we can reweigh before leaving - in case I get carried away buying stuff! You might want to bring an iPod - there is a player in every suite I think). Have fun!!!